Warren School
Regional School District No. 6
December 14, 2017
The Upper Blended and Senior Blended classes sounded amazing during their choral rehearsal with Mrs. Bills. This evening they will join GCS and JMS students in the Wamogo auditorium
for a 6:00 p.m. concert. We look forward to seeing you there!
Enrichment Clusters
Last week, we finished our first round of Enrichment Clusters for the 2017-2018 school year. Students look forward to Clusters, where they meet with other children and an adult facilitator who are interested in the same topic. There were seven Enrichment Clusters offered this Fall. Here is a brief description. Click on each title to view a video, slideshow, or photo for each cluster. Enjoy!
Hurricane Cluster video and slideshow
The next round will start in mid-January. Be sure to ask your children all about their cluster!
Norman Rockwell Museum Field Trip
Docent Patrick O'Donnell discussing Rockwell's Freedom of Speech.
Last week, Senior Blended (Warren School multiage) and 5th and 6th-grade students (James Morris and Goshen Center Schools) had the opportunity to visit one of great American artist’s gallery, showcasing Norman Rockwell’s artwork at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. Students investigated the narrative aspects of Rockwell’s art and discovered the wide range of stories of communicated through illustrated images. In addition to observing Rockwell’s many Saturday Evening Post magazine illustrations, students observed Tony DiTerlizzi’s exhibition of works by the #1 New York Times bestselling author/illustrator, Never Abandon Imagination which showcased over 200 original paintings and drawings. Known for his multi-million bestselling book series The Spiderwick Chronicles, DiTerlizzi is celebrated the world over for his images of such fantasy creatures as fairies, trolls, sprites, and goblins.
A message from Mrs. Sweet
Teaching for Artistic Behaviors (TAB)
Greetings from the art world!
My initiative for teaching a new philosophy and different methodology, Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), was inspired originally by attending the National Arts Education Conference in New York City (March 2017). I attended a presentation about Samantha Varain’s MA thesis, Choosing Creatively: Choice-Based Art Education in an Inclusive Classroom. Ms. Varain’s research showed 100% engagement by students in a choice-based learning environment. When I attended the Northwest Arts Council workshop at EdAdvance (Spring 2017), the TAB model, which was originally founded in Massachusetts over 35 years ago and is a “nationally recognized education approach in teaching,” was also a top topic of discussion.
Through TAB, students experience authentic exploration and learning practices that are interest based. Centers may vary but often include: Drawing, Painting, Collage, Fiber Arts, Clay/Ceramics, Sculpture, and Printmaking. In the Region 6 elementary art classroom, an additional center may include Mixed Media, in which more than one material is used in the artmaking process. TAB aligns with the workshop model that promotes student-centered choice-based learning through centers in the art room. Choice-based art experiences support multiple intelligences and learning modalities, which in turn generate student engagement.
All elementary students are now on the journey of art center-based learning. Primary grades have more modeling and introduction to skills for the success of experimenting with various tools and materials, while the upper grades have more independence in designing and implementing an Art Project Plan. There is an openness and willingness to make mistakes and to be reflective of self and peers during the process and the final product. While one objective is to strive to develop Craft (quality work with use of materials), other objectives include: Engage and Persist, Envision, Express, Observe, Stretch and Explore, Understand the Art World, and Reflect. These Studio Habits of Mind objectives are credited to The Art of Education, which link directly to the TAB mindset.
Students have been unpacking centers by experimenting with tools and materials and generating artwork that does not necessarily look the same as everyone else’s. There may be times that students create a similar project to learn a new skill, but more often than not, the art experiences may be messy as a means of revising. The TAB journey allows for mistakes, revisions, and abandonment of a project (at times) to allow for authentic and real-world experiences.
As past practice, most 2D art projects will come home, as a collection, in a portfolio in early June. The portfolio allows for work to come home undamaged and to house a body of work throughout the academic year for displays, art shows, and assessment. Students will keep sketchbook journals to include drawings and reflections of their process.
There will be projects and/or practices in the trying out of tools and materials that come home from time to time, but the real journey will be in student exploration of projects of interest. Please do not hesitate to volunteer in the art room or reach out to me at lsweet@rsd6.org. Thank you so much.
Of note: Donations of materials such as magazines, newspapers, cardboard, egg cartons, etc. are always welcome.
A message from Ms. Miller
A Look Ahead...
12/14 FOWS Meeting 3:30 p.m.
12/14 Winter Choral Concert @ Wamogo 6:00 p.m.
12/15 RSD6 Reading Celebration at JMS (All Warren students are invited.)
12/15 FNO "Jingle Bell Jam" for 5th/6th grades @ GCS 7:00 -9:00 p.m.
12/19 District 4th Grade Informance & Jazz Band at Warren School 5:30 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
12/19 Budget Conversation at Warren Town Hall 7:00 p.m.
12/22 Pajama Day and Celebration of Reading @ Warren School
12/25 to 1/1 Winter Recess
1/2 School reopens
1/11 5th & 6th Grade Winter Band Concert in the Wamogo Auditorium @ 6:30 p.m.
Happenings and Items of Note
Holiday Assistance
To the families of Region 6:
In collaboration with representatives from town hall, Region 6 has managed to streamline a network of care for local families in need during the winter holidays. This year, we are once again organizing our annual district-wide holiday drive and we need your help! This drive will run from Monday, November 13th - Tuesday, December 18th, and we are looking for food items, gift cards, or stocking-stuffers that we can use to supplement packages for identified families.
For further information regarding donations, please follow the link to our donor letter below for all of the details regarding dropoff and specifics on what we are looking for:
Donor Letter for Holiday Assistance
If you are a family residing in Warren, Morris, or Goshen and think you may need some support this holiday season with gifts, food, clothing, etc., please follow the link below to your corresponding town and complete the confidential needs assessment to be used during our scope of service. Please read and follow all of the directions carefully as they include essential information regarding the drive and the logistics involved.
Holiday Assistance Needs Assessment: Warren
Holiday Assistance Needs Assessment: Morris
Holiday Assistance Needs Assessment: Goshen
Holiday drive contact information by town:
Morris - Laurel Gillotti (860) 567-7430
Goshen - Colleen Kinkade (860) 491-2249
Warren - Samantha Sommerer (860) 868-7881
Wamogo - Steven Bagley or Sarah Bolton (860) 567-7410
GCS/Warren Elementary - Kristin Lutz (860) 491-6020 or (860) 868-2223
James Morris School - Gina Fleming (860) 567-7420
Thank you and happy holidays!